Early Years

The early years, from before birth to age 6, are crucial for a child's healthy development. Children deserve the best possible start in life to help them develop to their full potential.

The Early Years Branch provides a variety of services including programming for regulated child care, administration of the Child Care Subsidy program, oversight of the Early Intervention Program and the establishment of Early Years Centres.

Student Support Grants

What is a Student Support Grant?

The Student Support Grant was created to help address fundraising pressures on families, parents and school communities to enhance experiences for our students.

What is the objective of these grants?

The objective of the grants is to allow school communities the opportunity to request additional funds to help them tailor services and programming to create special student experiences, as well as to improve student success.

What are some examples of how the grant is used?

The grant funds are used for initiatives a school would normally fundraise for, such as class trips, band, student competitions, uniforms for school sports teams or travel costs related to tournaments. It can also be used for proms and graduations.

Who can request a Student Support Grant?

Teachers and parents can both request the grant to address fundraising pressures.

How do they make this request?

Requests for or questions about Student Support Grants should be directed to the school’s principal.

How much funding is available?

Since the 2014-15 school year, about $2.1 million dollars has been allocated to school boards each year.

Government allocates funds to each school board based on the number of schools and enrolment numbers.

The formula is $5,000 per school, plus $1 for every student.

Last month (February 2017) an additional $3.4 million was put into the grant program to benefit students directly. The additional $3.4 million has been allocated on a per student basis.